Intelligent television

ABSTRACT

An intelligent television and methods for displaying content are disclosed. Specifically, a user may cause a global panel or application panel to be displayed; the global panel is independent of the currently viewed content and provides functionality at a system level. The application panel displays content based on the content being actively displayed on the intelligent television; that is, the layout, information, and content depends on the content being displayed by the intelligent television. For example, upon receiving a selection from the user, the intelligent television may display one or more items of information that are associated with the content currently being displayed in an active content window. Moreover, as the global and application panels are used to navigate through various screens in the intelligent television, the global panels themselves do not obstruct the user from viewing content displayed on the screen of the intelligent television.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefits of and priority, under 35U.S.C. §119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 61/659,626filed Jun. 14, 2012, “Method and System for Customizing TelevisedContent”; 61/684,672 filed Aug. 17, 2012, “Smart TV”; 61/702,650 filedSep. 18, 2012, “Smart TV”; 61/697,710 filed Sep. 6, 2012, “Social TV”;61/700,182 filed Sep. 12, 2012, “Social TV Roadmap”; 61/736,692 filedDec. 13, 2012, “SmartTV”; 61/798,821 filed Mar. 15, 2013, “SmartTV”;61/804,942 filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/804,998 filed Mar. 25,2013, “SmartTV”; 61/804,971 filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/804,990filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/805,003 filed Mar. 25, 2013,“SmartTV”; 61/805,053 filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/805,030 filedMar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/805,027 filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”;61/805,042 filed Mar. 25, 2013, “SmartTV”; 61/805,038 filed Mar. 25,2013, “SmartTV.” Each of the aforementioned documents is incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety for all that they teach and forall purposes.

BACKGROUND

Consolidation of device features or technological convergence is in anincreasing trend. Technological convergence describes the tendency fordifferent technological systems to evolve toward performing similartasks. As people use more devices, the need to carry those devices,charge those devices, update software on those devices, etc. becomesmore cumbersome. To compensate for these problems, technology companieshave been integrating features from different devices into one or twomulti-functional devices. For example, cellular phones are now capableof accessing the Internet, taking photographs, providing calendarfunctions, etc.

The consolidation trend is now affecting the design and functionality ofdevices generally used in the home. For example, audio receivers canaccess the Internet, digital video recorders can store or provide accessto digital photographs, etc. The television in home audio/video systemsremains a cornerstone device because the display function cannot beintegrated into other devices. As such, consolidating home devices leadsto integrating features and functionality into the television. Theemergence of the Smart Television (Smart TV) is evidence of the trend toconsolidate functionality into the television.

A Smart TV is generally conceived as a device that integrates access tothe Internet and Web 2.0 features into television sets. The Smart TVrepresents the trend of technological convergence between computers andtelevision sets. The Smart TV generally focuses on online interactivemedia, Internet TV, on-demand streaming media, and generally does notfocus on traditional broadcast media. Unfortunately, most Smart TVs haveyet to provide seamless and intuitive user interfaces for navigatingand/or executing the various features of the Smart TV. As such, thereare still issues with the consolidation of features and the presentationof these features in Smart TVs.

SUMMARY

There is a need for an Intelligent TV with intuitive user interfaces andwith seamless user interaction capability. These and other needs areaddressed by the various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations ofthe present disclosure. Also, while the disclosure is presented in termsof exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individualaspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed.

In embodiments, a method of displaying content on a television isprovided, comprising: receiving an indication associated with aselection by a user; determining, based on the received indication, acontent panel to display via the television; retrieving from memory, afirst content information for display in the content panel; anddisplaying, via the television, the retrieved content information in thespecified content panel. This method may further comprise: identifyingat least one of a content source and a content information currentlybeing displayed via a television; selecting a panel type based on theidentified at least one of content source and content informationcurrently being displayed via the television; retrieving, from memory,content information based on the selected panel type; and displaying,via the television, the retrieved content information in the contentpanel based on the selected panel type. Further yet, this method mayfurther include: receiving a second indication associated with aselection by a user; selecting a panel type based on the secondindication; retrieving, from memory, content information based on theselected panel type and the second indication; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the content panel,wherein the retrieved content information is one of informationassociated with content information marked as favorite and informationassociated with content information that has been recently viewed.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable informationstorage medium is provided, the non-transitory computer readableinformation storage medium having stored thereon instructions that causea computing system to execute a method of displaying content on atelevision, comprising: receiving an indication associated with aselection by a user;

determining, based on the received indication, a content panel todisplay via the television; retrieving from memory, a first contentinformation for display in the content panel; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the specified contentpanel. These instruction may further comprise: identifying at least oneof a content source and a content information currently being displayedvia a television; selecting a panel type based on the identified atleast one of content source and content information currently beingdisplayed via the television; retrieving, from memory, contentinformation based on the selected panel type; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the content panel basedon the selected panel type. Further yet, these instruction may comprise:receiving a second indication associated with a selection by a user;selecting a panel type based on the second indication; retrieving, frommemory, content information based on the selected panel type and thesecond indication; and displaying, via the television, the retrievedcontent information in the content panel, wherein the retrieved contentinformation is one of information associated with content informationmarked as favorite and information associated with content informationthat has been recently viewed.

In yet another embodiment, a system for displaying content on atelevision is provided, comprising: an input device associated with thetelevision; a memory; and a microprocessor operable to: receive anindication associated with a selection by a user; determine, based onthe received indication, a content panel to display via the television;retrieve from the memory, a first content information for display in thecontent panel; and display, via the television, the retrieved contentinformation in the specified content panel. Further yet, themicroprocessor may further be operable to: identify at least one of acontent source and a content information currently being displayed via atelevision; select a panel type based on the identified at least one ofcontent source and content information currently being displayed via thetelevision; retrieve, from the memory, content information based on theselected panel type; and display, via the television, the retrievedcontent information in the content panel based on the selected panel

The present disclosure can provide a number of advantages depending onthe particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. For example,the current disclosure provides a panel system that aides in thenavigation of an intelligent television. For example, a multi-panelsystem is provided that satisfies the following: allows a user to watcha primary program while surfing the internet, checking social media, andchecking a system error etc. Moreover, information may be displayed inone content area that specifically depends on or contextually dependenton the primary program or active content area. In one area, a globalpanel is used such that an anchor for all views is provided, consistenthigh level actions across all applications are provided, a same patternof navigation is provided—all resulting in a unified experience for auser. In another area, an application panel is provided that allowsquick access to core functionality, provides an unobtrusive design whichallows for the active video to always be in view, that provides aconsistent user experience across all applications, and provides focusedcontextual content.

These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure.

The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-endedexpressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. Forexample, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at leastone of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B,or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation done without material human input when theprocess or operation is performed. However, a process or operation canbe automatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material.”

A “blog” (a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of awebsite supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogsare usually maintained by an individual with regular entries ofcommentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphicsor video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

A “blogging service” is a blog-publishing service that allows private ormulti-user blogs with time-stamped entries.

The term “cable TV” refers to a system of distributing televisionprograms to subscribers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmittedthrough coaxial cables or light pulses through fiber-optic cables. Thiscontrasts with traditional broadcast television (terrestrial television)in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radiowaves and received by a television antenna attached to the television.

The term “channel” or “television channel,” as used herein, can be aphysical or virtual channel over which a television station ortelevision network is distributed. A physical cannel in analogtelevision can be an amount of bandwidth, typically 6, 7, or 8 MHz, thatoccupies a predetermine channel frequency. A virtual channel is arepresentation, in cable or satellite television, of a data stream for aparticular television media provider (e.g., CDS, TNT, HBO, etc.).

The term “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refers to anytangible storage and/or transmission medium that participate inproviding instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium maytake many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media,volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, forexample, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readablemedia include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, aCD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any otherphysical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memorychip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment toe-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, itis to be understood that the database may be any type of database, suchas relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storagemedium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents andsuccessor media, in which the software implementations of the presentdisclosure are stored.

The term” enhanced television” refers to a collection of specificationsdeveloped under the OpenCable project of CableLabs (Cable TelevisionLaboratories, Inc.) that define an ETV Application consisting ofresources (files) adhering to the Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format(EBIF) content format as well as PNG images, JPEG images, and PFRdownloadable fonts. An ETV application is normally delivered through anMPEG transport stream and accompanies an MPEG program containing videoand audio elementary streams. An “ETV Application” is a collection ofresources (files) that include one or more EBIF resources that representviewable information in the form of pages. Two forms of a given ETVApplication may be distinguished: (1) an interchange form and (2) anexecution form. The interchange form of an ETV Application consists ofthe resources (files) that represent the compiled application prior toits actual execution by an ETV User Agent. The execution form of an ETVApplication consists of the stored, and possibly mutated forms of theseresources while being decoded, presented, and executed by an ETV UserAgent. An “ETV User Agent” is a software component that operates on aset-top box, a television, or any other computing environment capable ofreceiving, decoding, presenting, and processing an ETV Application. Thiscomponent usually provides, along with its host hardware environment,one or more mechanisms for an end-user to navigate and interact with themultimedia content represented by ETV Applications.

The term “high-definition television” (HDTV) provides a resolution thatis substantially higher than that of standard-definition television.HDTV may be transmitted in various formats, namely 1080p—1920×1080p:2,073,600 pixels (approximately 2.1 megapixels) per frame, 1080i (whichis typically either 1920×1080i: 1,036,800 pixels (approximately 1megapixel) per field or 2,073,600 pixels (approximately 2.1 megapixels)per frame or 1440×1080i:[1] 777,600 pixels (approximately 0.8megapixels) per field or 1,555,200 pixels (approximately 1.6 megapixels)per frame), or 720p—1280×720p: 921,600 pixels (approximately 0.9megapixels) per frame. As will be appreciated, “frame size” in pixels isdefined as number of horizontal pixels×number of vertical pixels, forexample 1280×720 or 1920×1080. Often the number of horizontal pixels isimplied from context and is omitted, as in the case of 720p and 1080p,“scanning system” is identified with the letter “p” for progressivescanning or “I” for interlaced scanning, and “frame rate” is identifiedas number of video frames per second. For interlaced systems analternative form of specifying number of fields per second is oftenused. For purposes of this disclosure, high-definition television” isdeemed to include other high-definition analog or digital video formats,including ultra high definition television.

The term “internet television” (otherwise known as Internet TV, OnlineTelevision, or Online TV) is the digital distribution of televisioncontent via the Internet. It should not be confused with Webtelevision—short programs or videos created by a wide variety ofcompanies and individuals, or Internet protocol television (IPTV)—anemerging internet technology standard for use by televisionbroadcasters. Internet Television is a general term that covers thedelivery of television shows and other video content over the internetby video streaming technology, typically by major traditional televisionbroadcasters. It does not describe a technology used to deliver content(see Internet protocol television). Internet television has become verypopular through services such as RTE Player in Ireland; BBC iPlayer,4oD, ITV Player (also STV Player and UTV Player) and Demand Five in theUnited Kingdom; Hulu in the United States; Nederland 24 in theNetherlands; ABC iview and Australia Live TV in Australia; Tivibu inTurkey; iWanTV! in the Philippines.

The term “internet protocol television” (IPTV) refers to a systemthrough which television services are delivered using the Internetprotocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet,instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellitesignal, and cable television formats. IPTV services may be classifiedinto three main groups, namely live television, with or withoutinteractivity related to the current TV show; time-shifted television:catch-up TV (replays a TV show that was broadcast hours or days ago),start-over TV (replays the current TV show from its beginning); andvideo on demand (VOD): browse a catalog of videos, not related to TVprogramming. IPTV is distinguished from Internet television by itson-going standardization process (e.g., European TelecommunicationsStandards Institute) and preferential deployment scenarios insubscriber-based telecommunications networks with high-speed accesschannels into end-user premises via set-top boxes or othercustomer-premises equipment.

The term “silo,” as used herein, can be a logical representation of aninput, source, or application. An input can be a device or devices(e.g., DVD, VCR, etc.) electrically connected to the television througha port (e.g., HDMI, video/audio inputs, etc.) or through a network(e.g., LAN WAN, etc.). Rather than a device or devices, the input couldbe configured as an electrical or physical connection to one or moredevices. A source, particularly a content source, can be a data servicethat provides content, (e.g., a media center, a file system, etc.). Anapplication can be a software service that provides a particular type offunction (e.g., Live TV, Video on Demand, User Applications, Photographdisplay, etc.). The silo, as a logical representation, can have anassociated definition or property, such as a setting, feature, or othercharacteristic.

The term “panel,” as used herein, can mean a user interface displayed inat least a portion of the display. The panel may be interactive (e.g.,accepts user input) or informational (e.g., does not accept user input).A panel may be translucent whereby the panel obscures but does not maskthe underlying content being displayed in the display. Panels may beprovided in response to a user input from a button or remote controlinterface.

The term “screen,” as used herein, refers to a physical structure thatincludes one or more hardware components that provide the device withthe ability to render a user interface and/or receive user input. Ascreen can encompass any combination of gesture capture region, a touchsensitive display, and/or a configurable area. The device can have oneor more physical screens embedded in the hardware. However a screen mayalso include an external peripheral device that may be attached anddetached from the device. In embodiments, multiple external devices maybe attached to the device. For example, another screen may be includedwith a remote control unit that interfaces with the Intelligent TV.

The term “media” of “multimedia,” as used herein, refers to content thatmay assume one of a combination of different content forms. Multimediacan include one or more of, but is not limited to, text, audio, stillimages, animation, video, or interactivity content forms.

A “smart TV”, sometimes referred to as connected TV or hybrid TV, (notto be confused with IPTV, Internet TV, or with Web TV), describes atrend of integration of the Internet and Web 2.0 features intotelevision sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technologicalconvergence between computers and these television sets/set-top boxes.The devices have a higher focus on online interactive media, InternetTV, over-the-top content, as well as on-demand streaming media, and lessfocus on traditional broadcast media than traditional television setsand set-top boxes

The term “television” is a telecommunication medium, device (or set) orset of associated devices, programming, and/or transmission fortransmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome(black-and-white) or colored, with or without accompanying sound.Different countries use one of the three main video standards for TVs,namely PAL, NTSC or SECAM. Television is most commonly used fordisplaying broadcast television signals. The broadcast television systemis typically disseminated via radio transmissions on designated channelsin the 54-890 MHz frequency band. A common television set comprisesmultiple internal electronic circuits, including those for receiving anddecoding broadcast signals. A visual display device which lacks a tuneris properly called a video monitor, rather than a television. Atelevision may be different from other monitors or displays based on thedistance maintained between the user and the television when the userwatches the media and based on the inclusion of a tuner or otherelectronic circuit to receive the broadcast television signal.

The term “Live TV,” as used herein, refers to a television productionbroadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present.

The term “standard-definition television” (SDTV) is a television systemthat uses a resolution that is not considered to be eitherhigh-definition television (HDTV 720p and 1080p) or enhanced-definitiontelevision (EDTV 480p). The two common SDTV signal types are 576i, with576 interlaced lines of resolution, derived from the European-developedPAL and SECAM systems; and 480i based on the American NationalTelevision System Committee NTSC system. In the US, digital SDTV isbroadcast in the same 4:3 aspect ratio as NTSC signals. However, inother parts of the world that used the PAL or SECAM analog standards,standard-definition television is now usually shown with a 16:9 aspectratio. Standards that support digital SDTV broadcast include DVB, ATSCand ISDB. Television signals are transmitted in digital form, and theirpixels have a rectangular shape, as opposed to square pixels that areused in modern computer monitors and modern implementations of HDTV. Thetable below summarizes pixel aspect ratios for various kinds of SDTVvideo signal. Note that the actual image (be it 4:3 or 16:9) is alwayscontained in the center 704 horizontal pixels of the digital frame,regardless of how many horizontal pixels (704 or 720) are used. In caseof digital video signal having 720 horizontal pixels, only the center704 pixels contain actual 4:3 or 16:9 image, and the 8 pixel widestripes from either side are called nominal analogue blanking and shouldbe discarded before displaying the image. Nominal analogue blankingshould not be confused with overscan, as overscan areas are part of theactual 4:3 or 16:9 image.

The term “video on demand (VOD),” as used herein, refers to systems andprocesses which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audiocontent on demand. VOD systems may stream content, to view the contentin real time, or download the content to a storage medium for viewing ata later time.

The term “satellite positioning system receiver” refers to a wirelessreceiver or transceiver to receive and/or send location signals fromand/or to a satellite positioning system, such as the Global PositioningSystem (“GPS”) (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo positioning system (EU),Compass navigation system (China), and Regional Navigational SatelliteSystem (India). The term “display,” as used herein, refers to at least aportion of a screen used to display the output of the television to auser. A single physical screen can include multiple displays that aremanaged as separate logical displays. Thus, different content can bedisplayed on the separate displays although part of the same physicalscreen.

The term “displayed image,” as used herein, refers to an image producedon the display. A typical displayed image is a television broadcast ormenu. The displayed image may occupy all or a portion of the display.

The term “display orientation,” as used herein, refers to the way inwhich a rectangular display is oriented by a user for viewing. The twomost common types of display orientation are portrait and landscape. Inlandscape mode, the display is oriented such that the width of thedisplay is greater than the height of the display (such as a 4:3 ratio,which is 4 units wide and 3 units tall, or a 16:9 ratio, which is 16units wide and 9 units tall). Stated differently, the longer dimensionof the display is oriented substantially horizontal in landscape modewhile the shorter dimension of the display is oriented substantiallyvertical. In the portrait mode, by contrast, the display is orientedsuch that the width of the display is less than the height of thedisplay. Stated differently, the shorter dimension of the display isoriented substantially horizontal in the portrait mode while the longerdimension of the display is oriented substantially vertical.

The term “module,” as used herein, refers to any known or laterdeveloped hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzylogic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable ofperforming the functionality associated with that element.

The terms “determine,” “calculate” and “compute,” and variationsthereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any typeof methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

The term “touch screen” or “touchscreen” refer to screen that canreceive user contact or other tactile input, such as a stylus. The touchscreen may sense user contact in a number of different ways, such as bya change in an electrical parameter (e.g., resistance or capacitance),acoustic wave variations, infrared radiation proximity detection, lightvariation detection, and the like. In a resistive touch screen, forexample, normally separated conductive and resistive metallic layers inthe screen pass an electrical current. When a user touches the screen,the two layers make contact in the contacted location, whereby a changein electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the contactedlocation calculated. In a capacitive touch screen, a capacitive layerstores electrical charge, which is discharged to the user upon contactwith the touch screen, causing a decrease in the charge of thecapacitive layer. The decrease is measured, and the contacted locationcoordinates determined. In a surface acoustic wave touch screen, anacoustic wave is transmitted through the screen, and the acoustic waveis disturbed by user contact. A receiving transducer detects the usercontact instance and determines the contacted location coordinates.

The term “web television” is original television content produced forbroadcast via the World Wide Web. Some major distributors of webtelevision are YouTube, Myspace, Newgrounds, Blip.tv, and Crackle.

The term “display” refers to a portion of one or more screens used todisplay the output of a computer to a user. A display may be asingle-screen display or a multi-screen display, referred to as acomposite display. A composite display can encompass the touch sensitivedisplay of one or more screens. A single physical screen can includemultiple displays that are managed as separate logical displays. Thus,different content can be displayed on the separate displays althoughpart of the same physical screen.

The terms “instant message” and “instant messaging” refer to a form ofreal-time text communication between two or more people, typically basedon typed text.

The term “internet search engine” refers to a web search engine designedto search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. Thesearch results are generally presented in a list of results oftenreferred to as SERFS, or “search engine results pages”. The informationmay consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files.Some search engines also mine data available in databases or opendirectories. Web search engines work by storing information about manyweb pages, which they retrieve from the html itself. These pages areretrieved by a Web crawler (sometimes also known as a spider)—anautomated Web browser which follows every link on the site. The contentsof each page are then analyzed to determine how it should be indexed(for example, words are extracted from the titles, headings, or specialfields called meta tags). Data about web pages are stored in an indexdatabase for use in later queries. Some search engines, such as Google™,store all or part of the source page (referred to as a cache) as well asinformation about the web pages, whereas others, such as AltaVista™,store every word of every page they find.

The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developedhardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, orcombination of hardware and software that is capable of performing thefunctionality associated with that element. Also, while the disclosureis presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciatedthat individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed.

The terms “online community”, “e-community”, or “virtual community” meana group of people that primarily interact via a computer network, ratherthan face to face, for social, professional, educational or otherpurposes. The interaction can use a variety of media formats, includingwikis, blogs, chat rooms, Internet forums, instant messaging, email, andother forms of electronic media. Many media formats are used in socialsoftware separately or in combination, including text-based chatroomsand forums that use voice, video text or avatars.

The term “remote control” refers to a component of an electronicsdevice, most commonly a television set, DVD player and/or home theatersystem for operating the device wirelessly, typically from a shortline-of-sight distance. Remote control normally uses infrared and/orradio frequency (RF) signaling and can include WiFi, wireless USB,Bluetooth™ connectivity, motion sensor enabled capabilities and/or voicecontrol. A touchscreen remote control is a handheld remote controldevice which uses a touchscreen user interface to replace most of thehard, built-in physical buttons used in normal remote control devices.

The term “satellite TV” refers to television programming delivered bythe means of communications satellite and received by an outdoorantenna, usually a parabolic reflector generally referred to as asatellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellitereceiver either in the form of an external set-top box or a satellitetuner module built into a TV set.

The term “social network service” is a service provider that buildsonline communities of people, who share interests and/or activities, orwho are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.Most social network services are web-based and provide a variety of waysfor users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

The term “social network” refers to a web-based social network.

The term “gesture” refers to a user action that expresses an intendedidea, action, meaning, result, and/or outcome. The user action caninclude manipulating a device (e.g., opening or closing a device,changing a device orientation, moving a trackball or wheel, etc.),movement of a body part in relation to the device, movement of animplement or tool in relation to the device, audio inputs, etc. Agesture may be made on a device (such as on the screen) or with thedevice to interact with the device.

The term “gesture capture” refers to a sense or otherwise a detection ofan instance and/or type of user gesture. The gesture capture can occurin one or more areas of the screen, A gesture region can be on thedisplay, where it may be referred to as a touch sensitive display or offthe display where it may be referred to as a gesture capture area.

The term “electronic address” refers to any contactable address,including a telephone number, instant message handle, e-mail address,Universal Resource Locator (“URL”), Universal Resource Identifier(“URI”), Address of Record (“AOR”), electronic alias in a database, likeaddresses, and combinations thereof

It shall be understood that the term “means,” as used herein, shall begiven its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C.,Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term“means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein,and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materialsor acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described inthe summary of the invention, brief description of the drawings,detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves.

The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide anunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neitheran extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its variousaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate thescope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of thedisclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detaileddescription presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possibleutilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features setforth above or described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A includes a first view of an embodiment of an environment or aintelligent television;

FIG. 1B includes a second view of an embodiment of an environment or aintelligent television;

FIG. 2A includes a first view of an embodiment of a intelligenttelevision;

FIG. 2B includes a second view of an embodiment of a intelligenttelevision;

FIG. 2C includes a third view of an embodiment of a intelligenttelevision;

FIG. 2D includes a fourth view of an embodiment of a intelligenttelevision;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the hardware of theintelligent television;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the intelligent televisionsoftware and/or firmware;

FIG. 5 is a second block diagram of an embodiment of the intelligenttelevision software and/or firmware;

FIG. 6 is a third block diagram of an embodiment of the intelligenttelevision software and/or firmware;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an embodiment of a handheld remote control;

FIG. 8 is a side view of an embodiment of a remote control;

FIG. 9A is a bottom view of an embodiment of a remote control with ajoystick in a neutral position;

FIG. 9B is a bottom view of an embodiment of a remote control with thejoystick in a lower position;

FIG. 9C is a bottom view of an embodiment of a remote control with thejoystick in an upper position;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of a handheld remotecontrol;

FIG. 11A is a front view of an embodiment of an Intelligent TV screen;

FIG. 11B is a front view of an embodiment of an Intelligent TV screen;

FIG. 11C is a front view of an embodiment of an Intelligent TV screen;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a handheld remote controlof either FIG. 7 or 10;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a content data service;

FIG. 14 is a first panel view of an embodiment of an intelligenttelevision;

FIG. 15A-FIG. 15C illustrate layouts consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a second panel view in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 17A-17B illustrates one or more panel types in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 illustrates a third panel view in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 19 illustrates a fourth panel view in accordance with embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 20A-20B illustrate a layout and display of content in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 illustrates a fifth panel view in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 22A-22B illustrate one or more panel views in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23A-23F illustrate one or more content views in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram depicting a content panel and panel typeselection process in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a letter thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the second reference label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Presented herein are embodiments of a device. The device can be atelecommunications device, such as a television, an electronic visualdisplay device, or other smart device. The device can include one ormore screens, or sections of a screen, that are configured to receiveand present information from a number of sources. Further, the devicecan receive user input in unique ways. The overall design andfunctionality of the device provides for an enhanced user experiencemaking the device more useful and more efficient.

Intelligent Television (TV) Environment:

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an Intelligent TV, or device, 100 isshown. It is anticipated that the Intelligent TV 100 may be used forentertainment, business applications, social interaction, contentcreation and/or consumption, and to organize and control one or moreother devices that are in communication with the Intelligent TV 100. Ascan be appreciated, the Intelligent TV can be used to enhance the userinteractive experience whether at home or at work.

In some embodiments, the Intelligent TV 100 may be configured to receiveand understand a variety of user and/or device inputs. For example, auser may interface with the Intelligent TV 100 via one or more physicalor electrical controls, such as buttons, switches, touch sensitivescreens/regions (e.g., capacitive touch, resistive touch, etc.), and/orother controls associated with the Intelligent TV 100. In some cases,the Intelligent TV 100 may include the one or more interactive controls.Additionally or alternatively, the one or more controls may beassociated with a remote control. The remote control may communicatewith the Intelligent TV 100 via wired and/or wireless signals. As can beappreciated, the remote control may operate via radio frequency (RF),infrared (IR), and/or a specific wireless communications protocol (e.g.,Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, etc.). In some cases, the controls, whether physicalor electrical, may be configured (e.g., programmed) to suit a user'spreferences.

Additionally or alternatively, smart phones, tablets, computers,laptops, netbooks, and other smart devices may be used to control theIntelligent TV 100. For example, control of the Intelligent TV 100 maybe achieved via an application running on a smart device. Theapplication may be configured to present a user with various IntelligentTV 100 controls in an intuitive user interface (UI) on a screenassociated with the device 100. The screen may be a touch sensitive, ortouch screen, display. Selections input by a user via the UI may beconfigured to control the Intelligent TV 100 by the applicationaccessing one or more communication features associated with the smartdevice.

It is anticipated that the Intelligent TV 100 can receive input viavarious input devices including, but in no way limited to, video, audio,radio, light, tactile, and combinations thereof. Among other things,these input devices may be configured to allow the Intelligent TV 100 tosee, recognize, and react to user gestures. For instance, a user maytalk to the Intelligent TV 100 in a conversational manner. TheIntelligent TV 100 may hear and understand voice commands in a mannersimilar to a smart device's intelligent personal assistant andvoice-controlled navigator application (e.g., Apple's Siri, Android'sSkyvi, Robin, Iris, and other applications).

The Intelligent TV 100 may also be a communications device which canestablish network connections 104 through many alternate means,including wired 108 or wireless 112 means, over cellular networks 116,and by using a telephone line 120 to connect to telephone networksoperated by telephone companies. These connections 104 enable theIntelligent TV 100 to access one or more communication networks. Thecommunication networks may comprise any type of known communicationmedium or collection of communication media and may use any type ofprotocols to transport messages or signals between endpoints. Thecommunication networks may include wired and/or wireless communicationtechnologies. The Internet is an example of the communication network132 that constitutes an Internet Protocol (IP) network consisting ofmany computers, computing networks, and other communication deviceslocated all over the world, which are connected through many telephonesystems and other means.

Other examples of the communication network 132 include, withoutlimitation, a standard Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), an IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN), the Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), acellular network, and any other type of packet-switched orcircuit-switched network known in the art. In addition, it can beappreciated that the communication network 132 need not be limited toany one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number ofdifferent networks and/or network types.

In some embodiments, the Intelligent TV 100 may be equipped withmultiple communication means. The multiple communication means may allowthe Intelligent TV 100 to communicate across Local Area Networks (LANs)124, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 128, and other networks 132.The networks may be connected in a redundant manner to ensure networkaccess. In other words, if one connection is interrupted, theintelligent TV 100 can use an alternate communications path toreestablish and/or maintain the network connection 104. Among otherthings, the intelligent TV 100 may use these network connections 104 tosend and receive information, interact with an electronic program guide(EPG) 136, receive software updates 140, contact customer service 144(e.g., to receive help or service, etc.), and/or access remotely storeddigital media libraries 148. In addition, these connections can allowthe Intelligent TV 100 to make phone calls, send and/or receive emailmessages, send and/or receive text messages (such as email and instantmessages), surf the Internet using an internet search engine, post blogsby a blogging service, and connect/interact with social media sitesand/or online community (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest,GooglePlus, MySpace, and the like) maintained by a social networkservice. In combination with other components of the Intelligent TV 100described in more detail below, these network connections 104 alsoenable the Intelligent TV 100 to conduct video teleconferences,electronic meetings, and other communications. The intelligent TV 100may capture and store images and sound, using associated cameras,microphones, and other sensors. Additionally or alternatively, theintelligent TV 100 may create and save screen shots of media, images,and data displayed on a screen associated with the Intelligent TV 100.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the Intelligent TV 100 can interact withother electronic devices 168 by either by the wired 108 and/or wireless112 connections. As described herein, components of the Intelligent TV100 allow the device 100 to be connected to devices 168 including, butnot limited to, DVD players 168 a, BluRay players 168 b, portabledigital media devices 168 c, smart phones 168 d, tablet devices 168 e,personal computers 168 f, external cable boxes 168 g, keyboards 168 h,pointing devices 168 i, printers 168 j, game controllers and/or gamepads 168 k, satellite dishes 1681, external display devices 168 m, andother universal serial bus (USB), local area network (LAN), Bluetooth™,high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) compliant devices, and/orwireless devices. When connected to an external cable box 168 g orsatellite dish 1681, the Intelligent TV 100 can access additional mediacontent. Also, as further described below, the Intelligent TV 100 iscapable of receiving digital and/or analog signals broadcast by TVstations. The Intelligent TV 100 can be configured as one or more of astandard-definition television, enhanced television, and high-definitiontelevision. It may operate as one or more of cable, Internet, InternetProtocol, satellite, web, and/or smart television. The Intelligent TV100 may also be used to control the operation of and may interface with,other smart components such as security systems 172, door/gatecontrollers 176, remote video cameras 180, lighting systems 184,thermostats 188, refrigerators 192, and other appliances.

Intelligent TV:

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate components of the Intelligent TV 100. In general,as shown by FIG. 2A, the Intelligent TV 100 can be supported by aremovable base or stand 204 that is attached to a frame 208. The frame208 surrounds edges of a display screen 212, leaving a front surface ofthe display screen 212 uncovered. The display screen 212 may comprise aLiquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen, a plasma screen, Light EmittingDiode (LED) screen, or other screen types. In embodiments, the entirefront surface of the screen 212 may be touch sensitive and capable ofreceiving input by the user touching the front surface of the screen212.

The Intelligent TV 100 may include integrated speakers 216 and at leastone microphone 220. A first area of the frame 208 may comprise ahorizontal gesture capture region 224 and second areas comprise verticalgesture capture regions 228. The gesture capture regions 224, 228 maycomprise areas or regions that are capable of receiving input byrecognizing gestures made by the user, and in some examples, without theneed for the user to actually touch the screen 212 surface of theIntelligent TV 100. However, the gesture capture regions 224, 228 maynot include pixels that can perform a display function or capability.

One or more image capture devices 232, such as a camera, can be includedfor capturing still and/or video images. The image capture device 232can include or be associated with additional elements, such as a flashor other light source 236 and a range finding device 240 to assistfocusing of the image capture device. In addition, the microphone 220,gesture capture regions 224, 228, image capture devices 232, and therange finding device 240 may be used by the Intelligent TV 100 torecognize individual users. Additionally or alternatively, theIntelligent TV 100 may learn and remember preferences associated withthe individual users. In some embodiments, the learning and remembering(i.e., identifying and recalling stored information) may be associatedwith the recognition of a user.

An IR transmitter and receiver 244 may also be provided to connect theIntelligent TV 100 with a remote control device (not shown) or other IRdevices. Additionally or alternatively, the remote control device maytransmit wireless signals via RF, light, and/or a means other than IR.Also shown in FIG. 2A is an audio jack 248, which may be hidden behind apanel that is hinged or removable. The audio jack 248 accommodates atip, ring, sleeve (TRS) connector, for example, to allow the user toutilize headphones, a headset, or other external audio equipment.

The Intelligent TV 100 can also include a number of buttons 252. Forexample, FIG. 2A illustrates the buttons 252 on the top of theIntelligent TV 100, although the buttons could be placed at otherlocations. As shown, the Intelligent TV 100 includes six buttons 252a-f, which can be configured for specific inputs. For example, the firstbutton 252 a may be configured as an on/off button used to controloverall system power to the Intelligent TV 100. The buttons 252 may beconfigured to, in combination or alone, control a number of aspects ofthe Intelligent TV 100. Some non-limiting examples include, but are notlimited to, overall system volume, brightness, the image capture device,the microphone, and initiation/termination of a video conference.Instead of separate buttons, two of the buttons may be combined into arocker button. This rocker button arrangement may be useful insituations where the buttons are configured to control features such asvolume or brightness. In some embodiments, one or more of the buttons252 are capable of supporting different user commands. By way ofexample, a normal press has a duration commonly of less than about 1second and resembles a quick input. A medium press has a durationcommonly of 1 second or more but less than about 12 seconds. A longpress has a duration commonly of about 12 seconds or more. The functionof the buttons is normally specific to the application that is active onthe Intelligent TV 100. In the video conference application for instanceand depending on the particular button, a normal, medium, or long presscan mean end the video conference, increase or decrease the volume,increase a rate speed associated with a response to an input, and togglemicrophone mute. Depending on the particular button, a normal, medium,or long press can also control the image capture device 232 to increasezoom, decrease zoom, take a photograph, or record video.

In support of communications functions or capabilities, the IntelligentTV 100 can include one or more shared or dedicated antennae 256 andwired broadband connections 260 as shown in FIG. 2B. The antennae 256also enable the Intelligent TV 100 to receive digital and/or analogbroadcast TV channels. The wired broadband connections 260 are, forexample, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), an optical line, an Ethernetport, an IEEE 1394 interface, or other interfaces. The Intelligent TV100 also has a telephone line jack 262 to further provide communicationscapability.

In addition to the removable base 204, the Intelligent TV 100 mayinclude hardware and mounting points 264 on a rear surface to facilitatemounting the Intelligent TV 100 to a surface, such as a wall. In oneexample, the Intelligent TV 100 may incorporate at least one VideoEquipment Standards Association (VESA) mounting interface for attachingthe device 100 to the surface.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the Intelligent TV 100 may include dockinginterfaces or ports 268. The docking ports 268 may include proprietaryor universal ports to support the interconnection of the Intelligent TV100 to other devices or components, which may or may not includeadditional or different capabilities from those integral to theIntelligent TV 100. In addition to supporting an exchange ofcommunication signals between the Intelligent TV 100 and a connecteddevice or component, the docking ports 268 can support the supply ofpower to the connected device or component. The docking ports 268 canalso comprise an intelligent element that comprises a docking module forcontrolling communications or other interactions between the IntelligentTV 100 and the connected device or component.

The Intelligent TV 100 also includes a number of card slots 272 andnetwork or peripheral interface ports 276. The card slots 272 mayaccommodate different types of cards including subscriber identitymodules (SIM), secure digital (SD) cards, MiniSD cards, flash memorycards, and other cards. Ports 276 in embodiments may includeinput/output (I/O) ports, such as universal serial bus (USB) ports,parallel ports, game ports, and high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) connectors.

An audio/video (A/V) I/O module 280 can be included to provide audio toan interconnected speaker or other device, and to receive audio inputfrom a connected microphone or other device. As an example, the audioinput/output interface 280 may comprise an associated amplifier andanalog to digital converter.

Hardware Features:

FIG. 3 illustrates components of a Intelligent TV 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. In general, the Intelligent TV100 includes a primary screen 304. Screen 304 can be a touch sensitivescreen and can include different operative areas.

For example, a first operative area, within the screen 304, may comprisea display 310. In some embodiments, the display 310 may be touchsensitive. In general, the display 310 may comprise a full color,display.

A second area within the screen 304 may comprise a gesture captureregion 320. The gesture capture region 320 may comprise an area orregion that is outside of the display 310 area, and that is capable ofreceiving input, for example in the form of gestures provided by a user.However, the gesture capture region 320 does not include pixels that canperform a display function or capability.

A third region of the screen 304 may comprise a configurable area 312.The configurable area 312 is capable of receiving input and has displayor limited display capabilities. In embodiments, the configurable area312 may present different input options to the user. For example, theconfigurable area 312 may display buttons or other relatable items.Moreover, the identity of displayed buttons, or whether any buttons aredisplayed at all within the configurable area 312 of a screen 304, maybe determined from the context in which the Intelligent TV 100 is usedand/or operated.

In an exemplary touch sensitive screen 304 embodiment, the touchsensitive screen 304 comprises a liquid crystal display extending acrossat least those regions of the touch sensitive screen 304 that arecapable of providing visual output to a user, and a capacitive inputmatrix over those regions of the touch sensitive screen 304 that arecapable of receiving input from the user.

One or more display controllers 316 may be provided for controlling theoperation of the screen 304. The display controller 316 may control theoperation of the touch sensitive screen 304, including input (touchsensing) and output (display) functions. The display controller 316 mayalso control the operation of the screen 304 and may interface withother inputs, such as infrared and/or radio input signals (e.g.,door/gate controllers, alarm system components, etc.). In accordancewith still other embodiments, the functions of a display controller 316may be incorporated into other components, such as a processor 364.

The processor 364 may comprise a general purpose programmable processoror controller for executing application programming or instructions. Inaccordance with at least some embodiments, the processor 364 may includemultiple processor cores, and/or implement multiple virtual processors.In accordance with still other embodiments, the processor 364 mayinclude multiple physical processors. As a particular example, theprocessor 364 may comprise a specially configured application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or other integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a controller, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit, aprogrammable logic device or gate array, a special purpose computer, orthe like. The processor 364 generally functions to run programming codeor instructions implementing various functions of the Intelligent TV100.

In support of connectivity functions or capabilities, the Intelligent TV100 can include a module for encoding/decoding and/orcompression/decompression 366 for receiving and managing digitaltelevision information. Encoding/decoding compression/decompressionmodule 366 enables decompression and/or decoding of analog and/ordigital information dispatched by a public television chain or in aprivate television network and received across antenna 324, I/O module348, wireless connectivity module 328, and/or other wirelesscommunications module 332. The television information may be sent toscreen 304 and/or attached speakers receiving analog or digitalreception signals. Any encoding/decoding and compression/decompressionis performable on the basis of various formats (e.g., audio, video, anddata). Encrypting module 324 is in communication with encoding/decodingcompression/decompression module 366 and enables the confidentiality ofall the data received or transmitted by the user or supplier.

In support of communications functions or capabilities, the IntelligentTV 100 can include a wireless connectivity module 328. As examples, thewireless connectivity module 328 can comprise a GSM, CDMA, FDMA and/oranalog cellular telephony transceiver capable of supporting voice,multimedia and/or data transfers over a cellular network. Alternativelyor in addition, the Intelligent TV 100 can include an additional orother wireless communications module 332. As examples, the otherwireless communications module 332 can comprise a Wi-Fi, Blutooth™,WiMax, infrared, or other wireless communications link. The wirelessconnectivity module 328 and the other wireless communications module 332can each be associated with a shared or a dedicated antenna 324 and ashared or dedicated I/O module 348.

An input/output module 348 and associated ports may be included tosupport communications over wired networks or links, for example withother communication devices, server devices, and/or peripheral devices.Examples of an input/output module 348 include an Ethernet port, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) port, Thunderbolt™ or Light Peak interface,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 port, orother interface.

An audio input/output interface/device(s) 344 can be included to provideanalog audio to an interconnected speaker or other device, and toreceive analog audio input from a connected microphone or other device.As an example, the audio input/output interface/device(s) 344 maycomprise an associated amplifier and analog-to-digital converter.Alternatively or in addition, the Intelligent TV 100 can include anintegrated audio input/output device 356 and/or an audio jack forinterconnecting an external speaker or microphone. For example, anintegrated speaker and an integrated microphone can be provided, tosupport near talk or speaker phone operations.

A port interface 352 may be included. The port interface 352 may includeproprietary or universal ports to support the interconnection of thedevice 100 to other devices or components, such as a dock, which may ormay not include additional or different capabilities from those integralto the device 100. In addition to supporting an exchange ofcommunication signals between the device 100 and another device orcomponent, the docking port 136 and/or port interface 352 can supportthe supply of power to or from the device 100. The port interface 352also comprises an intelligent element that comprises a docking modulefor controlling communications or other interactions between theIntelligent TV 100 and a connected device or component. The dockingmodule may interface with software applications that allow for theremote control of other devices or components (e.g., media centers,media players, and computer systems).

An Intelligent TV 100 may also include memory 308 for use in connectionwith the execution of application programming or instructions by theprocessor 364, and for the temporary or long term storage of programinstructions and/or data. As examples, the memory 308 may comprise RAM,DRAM, SDRAM, or other solid state memory. Alternatively or in addition,data storage 312 may be provided. Like the memory 308, the data storage312 may comprise a solid state memory device or devices. Alternativelyor in addition, the data storage 312 may comprise a hard disk drive orother random access memory.

Hardware buttons 358 can be included for example for use in connectionwith certain control operations. One or more image captureinterfaces/devices 340, such as a camera, can be included for capturingstill and/or video images. Alternatively or in addition, an imagecapture interface/device 340 can include a scanner, code reader, ormotion sensor. An image capture interface/device 340 can include or beassociated with additional elements, such as a flash or other lightsource. The image capture interfaces/devices 340 may interface with auser ID module 350 that assists in identifying users of the IntelligentTV 100.

The Intelligent TV 100 can also include a global positioning system(GPS) receiver 336. In accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, the GPS receiver 336 may further comprise a GPS module thatis capable of providing absolute location information to othercomponents of the Intelligent TV 100. As will be appreciated, othersatellite-positioning system receivers can be used in lieu of or inaddition to GPS.

Power can be supplied to the components of the Intelligent TV 100 from apower source and/or power control module 360. The power control module360 can, for example, include a battery, an AC to DC converter, powercontrol logic, and/or ports for interconnecting the Intelligent TV 100to an external source of power.

Firmware and Software:

An embodiment of the software system components and modules 400 is shownin FIG. 4. The software system 400 may comprise one or more layersincluding, but not limited to, an operating system kernel 404, one ormore libraries 408, an application framework 412, and one or moreapplications 416. The one or more layers 404-416 can communicate witheach other to perform functions for the Intelligent TV 100.

An operating system (OS) kernel 404 contains the primary functions thatallow the software to interact with hardware associated with theIntelligent TV 100. Kernel 404 can include a collection of software thatmanages the computer hardware resources and provides services for othercomputer programs or software code. The operating system kernel 404 isthe main component of the operating system and acts as an intermediarybetween the applications and data processing done with the hardwarecomponents. Part of the operating system kernel 404 can include one ormore device drivers 420. A device driver 420 can be any code within theoperating system that helps operate or control a device or hardwareattached to or associated with the Intelligent TV. The driver 420 caninclude code for operating video, audio, and/or other multimediacomponents of the Intelligent TV 100. Examples of drivers includedisplay, camera, flash, binder (IPC), keypad, WiFi, and audio drivers.

Library 408 can contain code or other components that may be accessedand implemented during the operation of the software system 400. Thelibrary 408 may contain one or more of, but is not limited to, anoperating system runtime library 424, a TV services hypertextapplication language (HAL) library 428, and/or a data service library432. The OS runtime library 424 may contain the code required by theoperating system kernel 404 or other operating system functions to beexecuted during the runtime of the software system 400. The library caninclude the code that is initiated during the running of the softwaresystem 400.

The TV services hypertext application language 428 can include coderequired by TV services either executed in the application framework 412or an application 416. The TV services HAL library 428 is specific tothe Intelligent TV 100 operations that control different functions ofthe Intelligent TV. The TV service HAL library 428 can also be formedfrom other types of application languages or embodiments of differenttypes of code or formats for code beyond the hypertext applicationlanguage.

The data services library 432 can include the one or more components orcodes to implement components for the data services function. The dataservices function can be implemented in the application framework 412and/or applications layer 416. An embodiment of a function of the dataservices and the type of components that may be included is shown inFIG. 6.

The application framework 412 can include a general abstraction forproviding functionality that can be selected by one or more application416 to provide specific application functions or software for thoseapplications. Thus, the framework 412 can include one or more differentservices, or other applications, that can be accessed by theapplications 416 to provide general functions across two or moreapplications. Such functions include, for example, management of one ormore of windows or panels, surfaces, activities, content, and resources,The application framework 412 can include one or more, but is notlimited to, TV services 434, TV services framework 440, TV resources444, and user interface component 448.

The TV services framework 440 can provide an additional abstraction fordifferent TV services. TV services framework 440 allows for the generalaccess and function of services that are associated with the TVfunctionality. The TV services 436 are general services provided withinthe TV services framework 440 that can be accessed by applications inthe applications layer 416. The TV resources 444 provide code foraccessing TV resources including any types of storage, video, audio, orother functionality provided with the Intelligent TV 100. The TVresources 444, TV services 436, and TV services framework 440 providefor the different implementations of TV functionality that may occurwith the Intelligent TV 100.

One or more user interface components 448 can provide general componentsfor display of the Intelligent TV 100. The user interface components 448might be general components that may be accessed by differentapplications provided in the application framework 412. The userinterface components 448 may be accessed to provide for panels and silosas described in conjunction with FIG. 5.

The applications layer 416 can both contain and execute applicationsassociated with the Intelligent TV 100. Applications layer 416 mayinclude one or more of, but is not limited to, a live TV application452, a video on demand application 456, a media center application 460,an application center application 464, and a user interface application468. The live TV application 452 can provide live TV over differentsignal sources. For example, the live TV application, 452, can provideTV from input from cable television, over air broadcasts, from satelliteservices, or other types of live TV services. Live TV application 452may then present the multimedia presentation or video and audiopresentation of the live television signal over the display of theIntelligent TV 100.

The video on demand application 456 can provide for video from differentstorage sources. Unlike Live TV application 452, video on demand 456provides for display of videos that are accessed from some memorysource. The sources of the video on demand can be associated with usersor with the Intelligent TV or some other type of service. For example,the video on demand 456 may be provided from an iTunes library stored ina cloud, from a local disc storage that contains stored video programs,or from some other source.

The media center application 460 can provide application for differenttypes of media presentation. For example, the media center 460 canprovide for displaying pictures or audio that is different from, butstill accessible by the user and different from live TV or video ondemand. The media center 460 allows for the access of different sourcesto obtain the media in the display of such media on the Intelligent TV100.

The application center 464 allows for the provision, storage and use ofapplications. An application can be a game, a productivity application,or some other application generally associated with computer systems orother devices, but may be operated within the Intelligent TV. Anapplication center 464 may obtain these applications from differentsources, store them locally and then execute those types of applicationsfor the user on the Intelligent TV 100.

User interface application 468 provides for the specific user interfacesassociated with the Intelligent TV 100. These user interfaces caninclude the silos and panels that are described in FIG. 5. An embodimentof the user interface software 500 is shown in FIG. 5. Here theapplication framework 412 contains one or more code components whichhelp control the user interface events while one or more applications inthe applications layer 416 affects the user interface use for theIntelligent TV 100. The application framework 412 can include a silotransition controller 504 and/or an input event dispatcher 508. Theremay be more or fewer code components in the application framework 412than those shown in FIG. 5. The silo transition controller 504 containsthe code and language that manages the transitions between one or moresilos. A silo can be a vertical user interface feature on theIntelligent TV that contains information for user. The transitioncontroller 504 can manage the changes between two silos when an eventoccurs in the user interface. The input event dispatcher 508 can receiveuser interface events that may be received from the operating system andprovided to the input even dispatcher 508. These events can includeselections of buttons on a remote control or on the TV or other types ofuser interface inputs. The input even dispatcher may then send theseevents to a silo manager 532 or panel manager 536 depending on the typeof the event. The silo transition controller 504 can interface with thesilo manager 532 to affect changes in the silos.

The application framework 416 can include a user interface application468 and/or a silo application 512. The application framework 416 caninclude more or fewer user interface applications as necessary tocontrol the user interface of the Intelligent TV 100 than those shown inFIG. 5. The user interface application can include a silo manager 532, apanel manager 536, and one or more types of panels 516 through 528. Thesilo manager 532 manages the display and/or features of silos. The silomanager 532 can receive or send information from the silo transitioncontroller 504 or the input event dispatcher 508 to change the silosdisplayed and/or to determine types of input received in the silos.

A panel manager 536 is operable to display panels in the user interfaceto manage transitions between those panels or to affect user interfaceinputs received in the panel. The panel manager 536 may thus be incommunication with different user interface panels such as a globalpanel 516, a volume panel 520, a settings panel 524, and/or anotification panel 528. The panel manager 536 can display these types ofpanels depending on the inputs received from the input event dispatcher508. The global panel 516 may include information that is associatedwith the home screen or top level hierarchal information for the user. Avolume panel 520 may display information about an audio volume controlor other settings for volume. A settings panel 524 can includeinformation displayed about the settings of the audio or video, or othersettable characteristics of the Intelligent TV 100. A notification panel528 can provide information about notifications to a user. Thesenotifications can be associated with information, such as, video ondemand displays, favorites, currently provided programs, or otherinformation. Notifications can be associated with the media or with sometype of setting, or operation or the Intelligent TV 100. The panelmanager 536 may be in communication with the panel controller 552 of thesilo application 512.

The panel controller 552 may operate to control portions of the panelsof the types described previously. Thus, the panel controller 552 may bein communication with a top panel application 540, an application panel544, and/or bottom panel 548. These types of panels may be differentlydisplayed in the user interface of the Intelligent TV 100. The panelcontrol thus may be based on the configuration of the system or the typeof display being used currently, put the types of panels 516-528 into acertain display orientation governed by the top panel application 540,application panel 544, or bottom panel application 548.

An embodiment of the data service 432 and the operation of the datamanagement is shown in FIG. 6. The data management 600 can include oneor more code components that are associated with different types ofdata. For example, there may be code components within the data service432 that execute and are associated with video on demand, the electronicprogram guide, or media data. There may be more or fewer types of dataservice 432 components than those shown in FIG. 6. Each of the differenttypes of data may include a data model 604-612. The data models governwhat information is to be stored and how that information will be storedby the data service. Thus, the data model can govern regardless of wherethe data comes from, how the data will be received or managed within theIntelligent TV system. Thus, the data model 604, 608, and/or 612, canprovide a translation ability or affect the ability to translate datafrom one form to another to be used by the Intelligent TV 100.

The different types of data services (video on demand, electronicprogramming guide, media) each have a data subservice 620, 624, and/or628 that is in communication with one or more internal and/or externalcontent providers 616. The data subservices 620, 624, and 628 thatcommunicate with the content providers 616 to obtain data that may thenbe stored in databases 632, 636, and 640. The subservices 620, 624, and628 may communicate with and initiate or enable one or more sourceplug-ins 644, 648, and 652 to communicate with the content provider. Foreach content provider 616, there may be a different source plug-in 644,648, and 652. Thus, if there is more than one source of content for thedata, each of the data subservice 620, 624, and 628 may determine andthen enable or initiate a different source plug-in 644, 648, and/or 652.The content providers 616 may also provide information to a resourcearbitrator 656 and/or thumbnail cache manager 660. The resourcearbitrator 656 may operate to communicate with resources 664 that areexternal to the data service 432. Thus, the resource arbitrator 656 maycommunicate with cloud based storage, network based storage, or othertypes of external storage in the resources 664. This information maythen be provided through the content provider module 616 to the datasubservices 620, 624, 628. Likewise, a thumbnail cache manager mayobtain thumbnail information from one of the data subservices 620, 624,628 and store that information in the thumbnail database 666. Furtherthe thumbnail cache manager 660 may extract or retrieve that informationfrom the thumbnails database 666 to provide to one of the datasubservices 620, 624, 628.

An exemplary content aggregation architecture 1300 is shown in FIG. 13.The architecture can include a user interface and content aggregationlayers 1304 and 1308. The user interface layer 1304 may include a TVapplication 1312, media player 1316, and application(s) 1320. The TVapplication 1312 enables the viewer to view channels received via anappropriate transmission medium, such as cable, satellite, and/or theInternet. The media player 1316 views other types of media received viaan appropriate transmission medium, such as the Internet. Theapplication(s) 1320 include other TV-related (pre-installed)applications, such as content viewing, content searching, deviceviewing, and setup algorithms, and coordinates with the media player1316 to provide information to the viewer.

The content source layer 1308 includes, as data services, a contentsource service 1328, a content aggregation service 1332 and a contentpresentation service 1336. The content source service 1328 can managecontent source investigators, including local and/or network filesystem(s), digital network device manager (which discovers handheld andnon-handheld devices (e.g., digital media servers, players, renderers,controllers, printers, uploaders, downloaders, network connectivityfunctions, and interoperability units) by known techniques, such as amulticast universal plug and play or UPnP discovery techniques, and, foreach discovered device, retrieves, parses, and encodes devicedescriptors, notifies the content source service of the newly discovereddevice, and provides information, such as an index, on previouslydiscovered devices), Internet Protocol Television or IPTV, digitaltelevision or DTV (including high definition and enhanced TV), thirdparty services (such as those referenced above), and applications (suchas Android applications).

Content source investigators can track content sources and are typicallyconfigured as binaries. The content source service 1328 starts contentsource investigators and maintains open and persistent channels forcommunications. The communications include query or command and responsepairs. The content aggregation service 1332 can manage content metadatafetchers, such as for video, audio, and/or picture metadata. The contentpresentation service 1336 may provide interfaces to the content index,such as an Android application interface and digital device interfaces.

The content source service 1328 can send and receive communications 1344to and from the content aggregation service 1332. The communications caninclude notifications regarding new and removed digital devices and/orcontent and search queries and results. The content aggregation service1332 can send and receive communications 1348 to and from the contentpresentation service 1336 including device and/or content lookupnotifications, content-of-interest advisories and notifications, andsearch queries and results.

When a search is performed, particularly when the user is searching orbrowsing content, a user request may be received from the user interfacelayer 1300, by the content presentation service 1336, which responsivelyopens a socket and sends the request to the content aggregation service1332. The content aggregation service 1332 first returns results fromthe local database 1340. The local database 1340 includes an index ordata model and indexed metadata. The content source service 1328 furtherissues search and browse requests for all content source investigatorsand other data management systems. The results are forwarded to thecontent aggregation service 1332, which updates the database 1340 toreflect the further search results and provides the original contentaggregation database search results and the data updates, reflecting theadditional content source service search results, over the previouslyopened socket to the content presentation service 1336. The contentpresentation service 1336 then provides the results to one or morecomponents in the user interface layer 1300 for presentation to theviewer. When the search session is over (e.g., the search session isterminated by the user or an action of the user), the user interfacelayer 1300 disconnects the socket. As shown, media can be provideddirectly by the content aggregation service 1332 to the media player1316 for presentation to the user.

Remote Control:

A handheld remote control can be provided to enable user interactionwith the Intelligent TV 100. An exemplary handheld remote control isshown in FIGS. 7-9. The remote control 700 can include one or more of,but is not limited to, top, side and bottom housings 704, 708, and 712,an (on/off) power button 716, an input source button 720 (to selectinput source such as Live TV, video on demand, media center, applicationcenter, high definition multimedia interface or HDMI, component or COMP,audio/Video or AN, digital or analog television or DTV/ATV, and videographics array (VGA)), a (volume) mute button 724, a Live TV button 728(to activate or select the Live TV silo), a video on demand (VOD) button732 (to activate or select the video on demand silo), a media centerbutton 736 (to activate or select the media center application or silo,which access various types of media such as music, TV programming,videos, and the like), an application center button 740 (to activate orselect the application center application or silo), a global panelbutton 744, an application panel button 748, a back button 752 (toselect a prior user operation or Intelligent TV state and/or navigate upa hierarchy of any displayed image or object(s) (in which case the backbutton 752 does not navigate within application panels or acrossapplication silos), a play button 756 (to play or pause media), a D-pad760 (which includes north, east, west, and south directional arrows tonavigate among displayed images and/or move between levels of anapplication's or object's hierarchy such as application view navigation,panel navigation, and collection navigation), an OK (or select) button764 (to select a highlighted displayed image (such as displayed speedcontrol, rewind, forward, play, and pause objects and/or objects on menubar or in a menu box) and/or navigate down a hierarchy of any displayedimage or object(s)), a rocker-type volume-up and volume-down button 768(to adjust the volume), a menu/guide button 772 (to select for display amenu or guide of programming), a 0-9 (number) button 776 (to display anumber pad on the TV screen), a settings button 780 (which launches anapplication to access current and change TV settings (such as channelsettings and settings used to adjust picture and sound effects (e.g.,image mode (e.g., standard, playground, game, cinema, concert, andstudio), brightness, contrast, saturation, color temperature, energysavings, 3D noise reduction, hue, sharpness, zoom mode (e.g., fullscreen, standard, smart zoom, and dot-to-dot), picture position, 3Dmode, for picture, and sound retrieval system or SRS TruSurround, soundmode (e.g., standard, live 1, live 2, theatre, music, speech, userequalizer mode, Left/Right speaker balance, auto volume control,Sony/Philips Interconnect Format or S/PDIF (off, auto, pulse codemodulation or PCM) for sound) and system settings (such as system (e.g.,selected language for graphical user interface, user geographical and/orgeopolitical location information, input method, area settings, andsleep time), network (e.g., WiFi, WiFi hotspot, WiFi direct,Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet or PPPoE (asymmetric digitalsubscriber line or ADSL), Ethernet) settings (e.g., enabled and disabledand selected and non-selected) and information (e.g., networkinformation (e.g., electronic address such as Internet Protocol or IPaddress, subnet mask, gateway, domain name server information, domainname, Media Access Control or MAC address, service set identification orSSID, security information, and password information) and inlinestatus), manage applications (e.g., currently installed applications,currently executing applications, and internal and external computerreadable medium usage), and view user information regarding theIntelligent TV 100)), a rocker-type channel-up and channel-down button784 (to increment or decrement the selected channel), and first, second,third and fourth hotkeys 788, 792, 794, and 796, and/or a moveablejoystick 900 on a bottom of the remote control 700. The first, second,third, and fourth hotkeys are generally assigned different colors, whichcolor indexing is depicted as displayed images on a selected panel toshow the currently assigned function, if any, for each hotkey. As can beseen, the actuator layout can provide a highly efficient, satisfactory,and easily usable experience to the end user.

Unlike the functional associations and functions of many of theactuators, those of some of the actuators are not readily apparent. Anumber of examples will now be discussed by way of illustration.

The media center button 736, when selected, can provide informationregarding music, videos, photographs, collections or groupings of music,videos, and/or photographs, and internal and external computationaldevices (such as personal computers, laptops, tablet computers, wirelessphones, removable computer readable media, and the like), which can begrouped in a selected manner (such as favorites, most recently viewed,most watched or viewed, and most recently added). The information canincludes previews (which can include selected portions of the mediacontent, duration, file size, date created, date last watched, timeswatched or viewed, and audio and/or video format information).

The application center button 740, when selected, may provideinformation regarding pre-installed and downloaded applications. Unlikedownloaded applications, pre-installed applications cannot be removed bythe user or manually updated. Exemplary pre-installed applicationsinclude web browser, settings control, and content search algorithms. Byway of illustration, the application center button 740 can provide ascrollable graphical grid of icons (each icon being associated with anapplication) currently available in the application center.

The global panel button 744, when selected, can provide the user, viaone or more panels or windows, with access to one or more of, but notlimited to, silos, notifications, a web browser, system settings, and/orinformation associated therewith. For example, the global panel button744 can enable the user to determine what external devices are currentlyconnected to and/or disconnected from the Intelligent TV 100, determinewhat inputs (e.g., HDMI ports) are currently available for connecting toexternal devices, determine a connection and/or operational status of aselected external device and/or network (e.g., WiFi connected, Ethernetconnected, and offline), assign a custom (or user selected) name to eachinput source, determine what content is currently being offered on LiveTV, on demand, the media center, and/or the application center, accessvendor messages and notifications to the user (e.g., system and/orapplication updates are available), activate the Internet browser,and/or access shortcuts on a displayed shortcut bar to more frequentlyused and desired applications. Common shortcuts are Internet browser(e.g., Internet search engine), system settings, and notifications. Thecommon types of panels are for information (which is typicallyinformation related to a currently displayed image and/or content (e.g.,title, date/time, audio/visual indicator, rating, and genre), browserequests, and/or search requests (such as search term field)). Each ofthe panel types may include a panel navigation bar, detailed informationor relevant content to the panel function, operation and/or purpose, anda hotkey bar (defining currently enabled functional associations ofhotkeys).

The application panel button 748, when selected, can display anapplication window or panel. One application panel may be an informationpanel regarding a selected (pre-installed or previously downloaded)application icon. The information panel can one or more of identify theselected application, provide a description of the functionality(including application developer and/or vendor, version, release, and/orlast update date and a category or type of application based on theapplication's functionality) and user ratings and/or degree of otheruser downloading of the application (e.g., a star rating assigned basedon one or more of the foregoing inputs), provide the option to launch,remove, update, and add to favorites the identified application, andprovide a listing of selectable links of other (not yet downloaded)recommended applications that provide similar functionality to theidentified application. The latter listing can, in turn, provide adescription of the functionality (including application developer and/orvendor, version, release, and/or last update date and a category or typeof application based on the application's functionality) and userratings and/or degree of other user downloading of the application(e.g., a star rating assigned based on one or more of the foregoinginputs).

The functions of the first, second, third, and fourth hotkeys 788, 792,794, and 796 can change depending on system state, context, and/or,within a selected screen and/or panel, based on a content or currentlyselected portion of (or relative cursor position on) the screen.Commonly, a currently assigned function of any of the first, second,third, and fourth hotkeys 788, 792, 794, and 796 depends on a currentlyaccessed silo and/or panel (with which the user is currently interactingwithin the silo). In other words, a first function of one of the first,second, third, and fourth hotkeys 788, 792, 794, and 796 is activated bythe respective hotkey in a first system state while a different secondfunction is activated by the respective hotkey in a different secondsystem state. In another example, a third function of one of the first,second, third, and fourth hotkeys 788, 792, 794, and 796 is activated bythe respective hotkey when a user focus (or currently selected cursorposition or screen portion) is at a first screen position while adifferent fourth function is activated by the respective hotkey when auser focus (or currently selected cursor position or screen portion) isat a different second screen position. The first screen position can,for instance, be within an icon while the second screen position isoutside of the icon. Hotkey functionality that could be enabled when inthe first screen position may be “configure” and “remove” and disabledis “add”, and, when in the second position hotkey functionality enabledcan be “add” and disabled is “configure” and “remove”. Generally, thestates of hotkeys can include normal (for enabled actions or functions),disabled (when an action or function is temporarily disabled), pressed(when selected by a user to command an action or function to beperformed), and unavailable (when no association between the hotkey andan action or function is currently available). While examples of hotkeyfunctions are discussed below, it is to be understood that these are notintended to be exhaustive or limiting examples.

The first hotkey 788, when selected in a first system state, can enablethe user to assign, change, or edit a name of an input source. It istypically enabled only when the input source of HDMI, Comp/YPbPr (e.g.,component video cables), video output, and VGA is in focus. Whenselected in a second system state, the first hotkey 788 can return theuser to a top of a scrollable collection of objects, such as applicationicons.

The second hotkey 792 may show all or less. In other words, the hotkey792 can allow the user to show all inputs, including theunconnected/undetected ones and to hide the unconnected/undetectedinputs, e.g., to expand and collapse the silo/input list. Each inputsource can have one of two states, namely connected/detected andunconnected/undetected. Some input sources, including Live TV, video ondemand, media center, and application center are alwaysconnected/detected.

The moveable joystick 900 on the bottom of the remote control 700, whenmanipulated, can cause a displayed image on the Intelligent TV 100screen to be displaced a proportional amount. In other words, thedisplayed image is displaced substantially simultaneously withdisplacement of the joystick 900 within the joystick aperture 904 in thebottom housing 712 of the remote control. As shown in FIGS. 9B-C, thejoystick 900 moves or slides between forward and reverse positions.Releasing the joystick 900 causes the joystick 900 to return to thecenter position of FIG. 9A, and the window to move or slide upwardly(when the joystick is released from the joystick position of FIG. 9B) ordownwardly (when the joystick is released from the joystick position ofFIG. 9C) until it disappears from view as shown in FIG. 11A. The effecton the screen of the Intelligent TV 100 is shown in FIGS. 11A-C. In FIG.11A, video content, such as TV programming, a video, movie, and thelike, is being displayed by front surface of the screen 212. In FIG.11B, the joystick 900 is moved or slid to the upper position of FIG. 9B,and a drop down window or panel 1100 moves or slides down (at thesubstantially the same rate of joystick 900 movement) at the top of thescreen 212. In FIG. 11C, the joystick 900 is moved or slid to the lowerposition of FIG. 9C, and a drop up window or panel 1100 moves or slidesup (at the substantially the same rate of joystick 900 movement) at thebottom of the screen 212. The window 1100 partially covers the videocontent appearing on the remainder of the screen 212 and/or causes aportion of the screen 212 displaying video content to move and/orcompress up or down the height of the window 1100.

The window 100 can include one or more of information (which istypically information related to a currently displayed image and/orcontent (e.g., panel navigation bar, detailed information (e.g., title,date/time, audio/visual indicator, rating, and genre), and hotkey bar(defining current functional associations of hotkeys)), browse requests,and/or search requests. Commonly, the window 1100 includes suitableinformation about the content (such as name, duration, and/or remainingviewing duration of content), settings information, TV or system controlinformation, application (activation) icons (such as for pre-installedand/or downloaded applications such as application center, media centerand WEB browser), and/or information about input source(s), When thejoystick 900 is in either the forward or reverse position, the user canselect an actuator on the front of the remote control, such as the OKbutton 764, and be taken, by displayed images on the screen 212, toanother location in the user interface, such as a desktop. This can bedone in an unintrusive manner and without affecting the flow of contentthat is pushed up or down. The joystick 900 could be moved, additionallyor differently, from side-to-side to cause the window to appear at theleft or right edge of the screen 212.

An alternative actuator configuration is shown in FIG. 10. The actuatorsare substantially the same as those of FIGS. 7-9 except that the socialnetwork button 1000, when selected, can automatically select content andpublish, via a social network service or other social media, the contentto a social network or online community. User or viewer comments and/orother messages can be included in the outbound message. For example, allor one or frames or portions of media content (such as a video, music, aphotograph, a picture, or text) can be provided automatically to apredetermined or selected group of people via Linked-In™, Myspace™,Twitter™, YouTube™, DailyMotion™, Facebook™, or Second Life™. The user,upon activating the button 1000 could, in response, select a socialforum or media upon which the selected content (which is the contentdisplayed to the user when the social network button 1000 is activated)is to be posted and/or a predetermined group within that social media towhich the content is to be posted. Alternatively, these selections couldbe preconfigured or preselected by the user.

The social network button can also be used to “turn up” or “turn down” asocial volume visualization. The Intelligent TV 100 can createdynamically a visualization of aggregated connections (and inboundand/or outbound messages) from a variety of social networks. Theaggregation (and inbound and outbound messages) can be depictedgraphically on the screen as a volume of connections to influence theviewer user. With a social volume visualization, selected contents ofeach linked social network profile of a social contact (and inboundand/or outbound messages from or to the linked social network contactand/or current activity of the social contact (such as watching the sameprogramming or content the viewer is currently watching) can bepresented in a separate tile (or visually displayed object). The size ofthe tile can be related to any number of criteria, including arelationship of the linked social contact (e.g., a relative degree ofimportance or type of relationship can determine the relative size ofthe tile, a degree of influence of the linked social contact to thecurrent viewer, a geographic proximity of the linked social contact tothe current viewer, a degree to which the currently provided mediacontent is of interest to both the viewer and linked social contact(e.g., both parties enjoy war movies, murder mysteries, musicals,comedies, and the like), an assigned ranking of the linked viewer by theviewer, a type of social network type linking the viewer with the linkedsocial contact, a current activity of the social network contact (e.g.,currently watching the same content that the viewer is currentlywatching), a current online or offline status of the linked socialcontact, and a social network grouping type or category to which boththe viewer and linked social contact belong (e.g., work contact, bestfriend, family member, etc.).

The viewer can designate a portion of the screen to depict the socialnetwork aggregation. By turning the social volume up (+) or down (−),the viewer can increase the size and/or numbers of linked contact tilesprovided to the viewer. In other words, by increasing the social volumethe viewer can view, access, and/or push more social content from thoseof his or her social networks associated with him or her in a memory ofthe Intelligent TV. By decreasing the social volume, the viewer canview, access, and/or push less social content from his or her associatedsocial networks. By selecting the mute button 724, the viewer can stopor pause any interactivity with his or her associated social networks(e.g., inbound or outbound messages). Social volume and/or mute can beseparated into two (or more) volume settings for outbound and inboundsocial network activity. By way of illustration, a first volume setting,control, and/or button can control the volume for outbound socialnetwork activity (e.g., outbound social messages) while a second(different) volume setting, control, and/or button can control thevolume for inbound social network activity (e.g., inbound socialmessages). By way of further illustration, a first mute setting,control, and/or button can stop or pause outbound social networkactivity (e.g., outbound social messages) while a second (different)mute setting, control, and/or button can stop or pause inbound socialnetwork activity (e.g., inbound social messages).

A functional block diagram of the remote control is shown in FIG. 12.The remote control 700 includes a controller 1208 to control andsupervise remote control operations, optional wireless (RF) transceiver1224 and antenna 1244 to send and receive wireless signals to and fromthe Intelligent TV 100 and other external components, optional infraredemitter 1228 to emit infrared signals to the Intelligent TV 100,optional light emitting diode or LED driver 1232 to control LEDoperation to provide video-enabled feedback to the user, actuators 1220(including the various buttons and other actuators discussed above inconnection with FIGS. 7 and 10), and joystick 900, all interconnectedvia a bus 1248. An on board power source 1200 and power managementmodule 1204 provide power to each of these components via powercircuitry 1240. The infrared emitter 1228 and receiver (not shown) onthe Intelligent TV system 100 can be used to determine a displayedobject illuminated by the infrared signal and therefore adjust thedisplayed image, for example to indicate a focus of the user (e.g.,illuminate a displayed object or show cursor position relative todisplayed objects on the screen) and to determine and activate a desiredcommand of the user. This can be done by tracking a position of theremote control in relation to infrared tracking reference points (e.g.,a sensor bar or infrared LED's) positioned on or adjacent to the screenof the Intelligent TV 100. Motion tracking can further be augmentedusing position information received from a multi-axis gyroscope and/oraccelerometer on board the remote control (not shown).

Referring now to FIG. 14, a panel configuration in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. As previouslydiscussed, the panel manager 536 is operable to display panels in theuser interface to manage transitions between those panels or to affectuser interface inputs received in the panel. The panel manager 536 maythus be in communication with different user interface panels such as aglobal panel 516, a volume panel 520, a settings panel 524, an applicantpanel 544 and/or a notification panel 528. The panel manager 536 candisplay these types of panels depending on the inputs received from theinput event dispatcher 508. The panel system is designed to provide aquick access to extended functionality while still maintainingvisibility into the main content view.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, an intelligent TV 100 may display a globalpanel 1404, active content view 1408, and the application panel 1412.The global panel 1404 may be the same or similar to global panel 516.The global panel 1404 may include information that is associated withthe home screen or top level hierarchal information for the user. Forinstance, global panel 1404 may be used to contain and accessfunctionality that exists at a system level; this functionality may becompletely independent of the currently viewed content. The global panel1404 may be displayed in such a manner as to not disrupt the contentview area 1404; that is, the global panel 1404 may be displayed in sucha manner as to provide a user the ability to view content displayed inthe content view area 1408. For example, the global panel 1404 may betranslucent in nature such that the content displayed in the contentview area 1408 is displayed (i.e. still viewable to a user), behind theglobal panel 1404. The global panel 1404 may provide a consistent accessto high level actions across all applications, an anchor for all views,a unified experience, and further may follow the same pattern as theapplication panel 1412. Moreover, and as previously discussed, globalpanel 1404 may be displayed by the intelligent TV 100 such that theactive content in the content view area 1408 is always in view. In someembodiments, the global panel 1404 and the contents of the global panel1404 may depend on the user; that is, the global panel 1404 may bespecific to one or more users. Therefore, the global panel 1404 may alsobe thought of as a home panel.

As further illustrated in FIG. 14, an intelligent TV 100 may display anapplication panel 1412; the application panel may 1412 may be the sameor similar to application panel 544. The application panel 1412 mayprovide access to contextually relevant functionality based on thecurrently viewing/recently viewed material; similar to the global panel1404, the application panel 1412 may provide such access withoutdisrupting or the content view area 1408. That is, the application panel1412 may be displayed in such a manner as to provide a user the abilityto view content displayed in convent view area 1408. For example, theapplication panel 1412 may be translucent in nature such that thecontent displayed in the content view area 1408 is displayed (i.e. stillviewable to a user), behind the application panel 1412. The applicationpanel 1412 may provide quick access to core functionality of theintelligent TV 100 such that the active content in the content view area1408 is always in view. Moreover, the application panel may provide aconsistent user experience across all applications and may includefocused contextual content.

Referring now to FIG. 15A, a global panel configuration in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure is depicted. Specifically,intelligent TV 100 may display a global panel 1404 such that the globalpanel 1404 appears on the left side of the intelligent TV 100. However,intelligent TV 100 is not limited to displaying the global panel 1404 onthe left; in some embodiments and consistent with the presentdisclosure, the global panel 1404 may be displayed on the right side ofintelligent TV 100, near the top side of intelligent TV 100, near thebottom of intelligent TV 100, and also in the center of intelligent TV100. Moreover, the intelligent TV 100 may display content in activecontent area 1408.

Referring now to FIG. 15B, a detailed global panel 1404 configuration ofFIG. 15A is illustrated in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The global panel 1404 may include one or more sourcesrepresented by icons and text, or shortcuts, 1504A-E. Of course, more orless icons and text 1504A-E may be displayed. As previously discussed,each icon and text 1504A-E may be associated with one or more sources ofcontent. For example, icon and text 1504A may be associated with Live TVapplication 452; icon and text 1504B may be associated with video ondemand 456; icon and text 1504C may be associated with media centerapplication 460; icon and text 1504D may be associated with applicationcenter application 464; and icon and text 1504E may be associated withone or more sources of content, either internal or external. Moreover,icon and text 1504F may provide the ability for all sources of contentto be displayed within global panel 1404. Global panel 1404 mayadditionally indicate a source that is selected or highlight usingindicator 1512; for example, indicator 1512 may comprise a boxpositioned around Live TV —801 CNXN. Although illustrated as a box,other methods or configurations which provide for icon selection and/oridentification may be used. For example, instead of a box, indicator1512 may comprise adjusting the background of an icon and text, such as1504A for example, such that the color, shade, or hue is different.Alternatively, or in addition, indicator 1512 may comprise enlarging ormagnifying the icon and text.

The text portion of icon and text 1504A-1504F may additional include thecurrent application, source, or channel that is currently maintained, onhold, active, and/or associated with another content that is notcurrently displayed in content display area 1408. For example, activecontent area 1408, in reference to FIG. 15B, is currently displaying aLive TV view (specifically 801 CNXN). The other icons and text,1504B-1504E, may display the previously active content, or content thatwas previously displayed in active area 1408, at one time, but is nowcurrently in a hold, inactive, or paused stated. For example, icon andtext 1504B displays “On Demand—Skyfalls”; that is on demand application456 may have previously been displaying some form of content—video,image, TV shows, etc.; the text of icon 1504B includes a title of thecontent that was previously displayed—“Skyfalls”. Similarly, the textportion of icon and text 1504D displays a previously displayed, oractive, application—for example, “Bubble Bird”. The application “BubbleBird” may still reside in some form of application memory associatedwith application center application 464. As another example, the textportion of icon and text 1504E includes HDMI 1—YBOX 720; source contenton the HDMI 1 port from a YBOX 720 was previously displayed in contentarea 1408.

Additionally, global panel 1404 may include a shortcut area 1516. Theshortcut area 1516 may provide access to frequently used applications,sources, or areas of intelligent TV 100. Moreover, shortcut area 1516may be user configurable; that is a user may be able to decide whatapplications or sources are displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 15B,shortcut area 1516 displays an icon for browser 1520A, an icon for asettings menu 1520B, and an icon for alerts 1520C. The settings 1520Bmay provide a user access to one or more intelligent TV 100configurations. Additionally, the Alerts icon 1520C, may indicate anumber of alerts, or messages, a user has. The alert messages may bemessages involving the operation and configuration of intelligent TV100, messages received from one or more users, indications that newcontent has arrived, or the like.

In addition, the global panel 1404 may be displayed such that theactively displayed content is displayed in active content area 1408 andis further visible behind global panel 1404. For example, the contentcurrently displayed on the intelligent TV 100 is of a desk; the globalpanel 1404 may be translucent such that the content is displayed belowor behind the global panel 1404, as represented by the dotted lines inFIG. 15B.

As illustrated in FIG. 15C, and in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure, as the indicator 1512 is moved to a differentsource, the content or a preview of the content may be displayed inactive content area 1408. For example, FIG. 15C illustrates an image orvideo associated with Skyfalls being displayed in content area 1408.Similar to FIG. 15B, the content is displayed such that a user can viewcontent even though global panel 1404 may reside over the activelydisplayed content.

As previously discussed, intelligent TV 100 may further include anapplication panel 1412 as shown in FIG. 16. The content displayed in theapplication panel 1412 depends on the content displayed in content viewarea 1412. Stated another, application panel 1412 is contextuallydependent upon the source of content and the content itself in contentview area 1412. This is significantly different from global panel 1404,in which the content displayed in global panel 1404 containsfunctionality that exists at a system level and is completelyindependent of the currently viewed content in content view area 1408.The application panel 1412 also provides customized information for eachapplication. The application panel 1412 may comprise application panelelements comprising an application panel navigation bar 1604, a contentarea 1608, and a hotkey legend 1612. The application panel navigationbar 1604 is presented such that the navigation pattern and contentremain consistent across all applications. That is, the navigation bar1604 may include the same or similar elements such that an ease ofnavigation is maintained not matter which applications and/or sourcesare selected and displayed. For example, the navigation panel navigationbar 1604 may include fixed tab regions 1620A-1620E corresponding tonavigable menus and further comprising Info, New, Recommended,Favorites, and Search. Although, Info, New, Recommended, Favorites, andSearch are illustrated in FIG. 16, additional or fewer tab regions maybe displayed.

The content area 1608 is panel view specific; that is, depending on apanel view focus, the content are 1608 may update, as further describedbelow. Moreover, application panel 1612 may include a hotkey legend 1612corresponding to one or more hotkeys. The hot key legend is positionedat the bottom of the panel across all applications. The function of thehot keys is context sensitive and may vary depending on the applicationselected and/or displayed in content view area 1408. However, generallyspeaking, some hot keys are generally navigation based while others areaction based—for example, based on shortcuts such as marking a series asa favorite.

As illustrated in FIGS. 17A-17B, multiple content area panels areprovided in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Eachpanel may be provided based on the context of a navigation. For example,if the navigation panel and navigation bar 1604 indicates that the focusis upon the “Info” fixed tab region 1620A, a panel based on the InfoViews 1704 category, such as “Series Info” 1704A, may display contentrelated to the current active view. As another example, when the focusof the navigation panel and navigation bar 1604 is upon the “Favorites”fixed tab region 1620D, a panel based on the Favorites 1716 category,such as “Videos” 1716B, may display content related to the currentactive view. The categories of panels may include, but are not limitedto, “Info Views” 1704 having panel types corresponding to 1704A-17-4J;“Browse” 1708 having panel types corresponding to 1708A-1708K; “Search”1712 having panel types 1712A-1712B; “Favorites” 1716 having panel types1716A-1716D; and “Global” 1720 having a panel type of 1720A. More orless panel categories and panel types may be provided.

FIG. 18 depicts an example where the “Last Viewed” fixed tab region hasa focus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.When a “Last Viewed” fixed tab region has a focus, a browse category1708 having a panel type 1708F may be utilized to display informationregarding last viewed content items. For example FIG. 18 illustrates anexample application panel 1408 when “Last Viewed” is selected. In suchan instance, the last viewed panel 1708F provides a list ofrecommendations based on the last viewed media where the last viewedmedia is media agnostic. The last viewed panel 1708F may provide a richchronological list of viewed content, including episode number, seriesname, and runtime information. For example, one or more content areas1804 may be displayed containing information relating to content thatwas viewed last. The content areas 1804 may be arranged chronologicallyby date last viewed, alphabetically, or by some other means. The contentareas 1804 may include a thumbnail displaying one or more imagesassociated with the last viewed content. Additionally, where the contentdisplayed includes episode information, the content area 1804 mayinclude an episode number, an episode name, a series name, and runtimeinformation. Additionally, the content area 1804 may include a favoritebutton 1808 to added some aspect (for example, an entire series, anepisode etc.) to a favorites list.

FIG. 19 depicts an example where the “Favorites” fixed tab region, suchas 1620 D, has a focus in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. When a “Favorites” fixed tab region has a focus, afavorites category 1716 having a panel type corresponding to one of1716A-1716D may be utilized to display information regarding contentitems marked as Favorite. The Favorites Panel displayed in applicationpanel 1412, may provide a running list of a user's favorite content andallows for an easy viewing, date checking, share and the like of contentitems marked as favorite. For example FIG. 19 illustrates an exampleapplication panel 1408 when “Favorites” is selected. In such aninstance, one of the favorites panel corresponding to 1716A-1716Dprovides a list recommendations based on content that a user has markedas special or favorite. The content items, for example 1904, may bemedia agnostic. That is, the favorite content as illustrated in FIG. 19may include TV shows, movies, applications, etc. The content area 1904associated with favorite content, generally includes an image thumbnailof the favorite item, and additional information, such as a series name,and a short description of the favorite content. Moreover, the contentarea 1904 may include a favorites button 1908 to mark or unmark favoritecontent.

FIG. 20A depicts an example when the info fixed tab region 1620A has afocus in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.When info fixed tab region 1620A has a focus, an Info Panel Type, suchas Panel type 1704A may be presented. Panel type 1704A may be presentedwhen the content displayed in the content active area 1408 is associatedwith content having series information. The series panel type 1704A mayinclude series information 2004A and 2004B, a view button 2012, afavorite button 2016, and a thumbnail display of the series information2008. The series information 2004A and 2004B may comprise informationrelated to or associated with content having series information, such asa TV series, a Movie series, or the like. The series information 2002Aand 2004B may include the series name, a season, an episode number, andepisode name, a long description of the series, video format, audioformat, rating, and series number. Of course additional informationrelating to a series may be displayed.

Moreover, a content area 2020 may provide “Next Episode” information2020. “Next episode information 2020 may comprise content areas 2024corresponding to the next episodes, if any, of a selected episode.Content area 2024 may include a thumbnail of the next episode and/oradditional episode information, such as episode number, episode name,and runtime information.

FIG. 20B depicts another example of the info fixed tab region 1620Ahaving a focus in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. When info fixed tab region 1620A has a focus, an Info PanelType, such as Panel type 1704A may be presented. Panel type 1704A may bepresented when the content displayed in the content active area 1408 isassociated with content having series information. The series panel type1704A may include series information 2034A and 2034B, a view button2012, a favorite button 2016, and a thumbnail display of the seriesinformation 2008. The series information 2034A and 2034B may compriseinformation related to or associated with content having seriesinformation, such as a TV series, a Movie series, or the like. Theseries information 2032A and 2034B may include the series name, aseason, an episode number, a long description of the series, videoformat, audio format, rating, and series number. Of course additionalinformation relating to a series may be displayed.

Moreover, a content area 2032 may provide “Recommended” information2032. Recommended information 2028 may comprise content areas 2032corresponding to the recommended episodes or content, if any, based on aselected content. Content area 2032 may include a thumbnail of the nameof a series and a short description of the series.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure,application panel 1412 may display recommended content when the fixedtab region 1620C has the focus, as illustrated in FIG. 21. For example,based on one or more content that has been viewed by a user and/or basedon content currently being viewed in the active content area 1408,recommended content may be displayed in application panel 1412. Therecommended content may include content area 2104 containing an imagethumbnail 2108, and information associated with the content, such as aseries name and a short description.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure,application panel 1412 may display content resulting from a user searchwhen the fixed tab region 1620E has the focus, as illustrated in FIG.22A. For example, based on a search term or terms entered into a searchbox 2204, content matching the search term or terms may be returned to auser. Prior to searching however, a content panel, such as content panel1712A, may first be displayed. Content panel 1712A may contain a one ormore previous search terms 2208 and display each specific search term2212 for a user to navigate to and select. Therefore, if a user decidesto select a previously searched term based on the previous searches2208, search results matching the previously searched term may bedisplayed. Alternatively, or in addition, a user may enter one or moresearch terms into the term box 2204. The results of the search, eitherbased on the search terms, or based on the previous search, may then bedisplayed to a user using a content panel 1712B, for example, asillustrated in FIG. 22B. FIG. 22B may include one or more content areas2216 embodying the results of the previous search. Content areas 2216may include associated content, such as an image thumbnail, a seriesname, a description of the content, an episode number and the like.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention and aspreviously described, a user may select a fixed tab region 1620Acorresponding to info, as illustrated in FIG. 23A. An indicator, such asindicator 2340 may display which fixed tab region is selected or has thecurrent focus. Application panel 1412 may then display context specificinformation corresponding to the Active Content Area 1408. For example,application panel 1412 may include information specific to Live TV—forexample channel 801 corresponding to the network CXNX. Additionally, athumbnail image 2304 corresponding to the channel 801 may be displayedin the application panel 1412. Moreover, the application panel 1412 mayutilize one or more panel content types discussed in FIGS. 17A-17B. Forexample, a mini-electronic program guide 2308 displaying programscheduling pertaining to the active content area 1408 may be displayedin the application panel 1412. Moreover, additional informationpertaining to the active content area 1408 may be presented to a user.Information such as the title of the program 2312, the scheduling of theprogram 2316, a description of the program 2320, and characteristics ofthe program (for example HD, Dolby, and category) 2324 may also bedisplayed. Moreover, upon the display of the application panel 1412, theshortcut area 1516 may also be displayed.

In some embodiments, a user may select the EPG fixed tab region 2328 todisplay an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) as illustrated in FIG. 23B.The application panel 1412 may initially display the EPG without theadditional content window 2332. The application panel 1412 may utilizepanel content types 1708A for displaying content associated with one ormore sources. As a user scrolls through the EPG, the user may stop on aspecific scheduled program, for instance Newsroom on channel 801corresponding to reference character 2336. After an amount of time haspassed, an additional content window 2332 may display next to the EPG.This amount of time may be configured or set by a user.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, a user mayselect the Categories fixed tab region 2344 to display one or morecategories of content as illustrated in FIG. 23C. Upon selecting aspecific category, such as the sports category 2348, content specific tothe selected category may be displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 23D. Forexample, a mini-electronic program guide 2352 may be displayed in theapplication panel 1412 corresponding to the category selected by a user.

In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present inventionand as illustrated in FIG. 23E, if a user selects a media center source,such as 1504C, the application panel 1412 may display content associatedwith the media center utilizing a panel type of FIGS. 17A-17B. Forexample, the application panel 1412 may display an info panel pertainingto a photo panel or global info panel. The active content area 1408 maydisplay the photo. Moreover, the application panel 1412 may includeadditional information pertaining to the image displayed in the activecontent area 1408.

As another example illustrating the contextual relationship between theapplication panel 1412 and the active content area 1408, suppose a userselects Applications 1504D from the Global Panel 1404. The activecontent window may display an application, such as Bubble Birds, in thecontent display area 1408, as illustrated in FIG. 23F. Upon invoking theapplication panel 1412, the application panel 1412 may utilize an infocontent panel type corresponding to at least one of the panel typesillustrated in FIGS. 17A-17B. In such an instance, the content displayedin the application panel 1412 depends on the content displayed in theactive content window 1408.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 2400 forselecting and displaying one or more panels for viewing by a user.Method 240 is in embodiments performed by a device, such as device 100.More specifically, one or more hardware and software components may beinvolved in performing method 2400. In one embodiment, one or more ofthe previously described modules perform one or more of the steps ofmethod 2400. The method 2400 may be executed as a set ofcomputer-executable instructions executed by a computer system andencoded or stored on a computer-readable medium. Hereinafter, the method2400 shall be explained with reference to the systems, components,modules, software, etc. described in conjunction with FIGS. 1-23F.

Method 2400 may continuously flow in a loop, flow according to a timedevent, or flow according to a change in an operating or statusparameter. Method 2400 is initiated at step 2404. Step 2404 may startwith an intelligent television 100 receiving input from a remote orchannel changer associated with a user. Based on the remote or channelchanger input, the step 2404 may flow to step 2408, where the inputreceived is analyzed. At step 2312, if it is determined that theanalyzed communication is associated with displaying a global panel,such as panel 1404, then method 2400 proceeds to step 2416 where theuser, or a user profile associated with the user is identified. Becausethe content information is not specific to the content displayed in theactive content area 1408, once the user or user profile associated witha user has been identified, the method then proceeds to step 2420 toretrieve content information to display in the global panel 1404. Atstep 2424 the retrieved content is then displayed in the global pane1404.

At step 2428 additional focus information indicating a specific icon andtext, or shortcuts, corresponding to icon and text 1504A-F may bereceived from a user. The specific icon and/or text with focusinformation may then be used to identify a specific application toselect such that content is displayed in the active content area 1404 atstep 2432. The method 2400 may then end at step 2436 or repeat step2404.

If, at step 2412, it is determined that the analyzed input correspondsto the display of an application panel, such as application panel 1412,then, at step 2440, the content displayed in the active content area1408 and/or the source is analyzed. At step 2444, a panel type isselected; the panel type may correspond to one or more panel types asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 17A-17B. At step 2448, contentinformation to populate the panel type is retrieved, and the content isthen displayed at step 2452 in the application panel. After step 2452,additional focus information may be received at step 2456. Uponreceiving additional focus information, the method 2400 may repeat atstep 2440, where the content in the active content area and/or thesource is analyzed. Alternatively, or in addition, the method 2400 mayend at 2436.

The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been describedin relation to one or more embodiments of a panel described with respectto a global panel and an application panel. However, to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the precedingdescription omits a number of known structures and devices. Thisomission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scopes of theclaims. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding ofthe present disclosure. It should however be appreciated that thepresent disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond thespecific detail set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations illustrated herein show the various components of thesystem collocated, certain components of the system can be locatedremotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LANand/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should beappreciated, that the components of the system can be combined in to oneor more devices, such as a cable box or other set top box used toprovide content to a television, a smart device used to watch streamedshows, and or other smart devices used to watch content, or collocatedon a particular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/ordigital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or acircuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the precedingdescription, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that thecomponents of the system can be arranged at any location within adistributed network of components without affecting the operation of thesystem. For example, the various components can be located in a switchsuch as a PBX and media server, gateway, in one or more communicationsdevices, at one or more users' premises, or some combination thereof.Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could bedistributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associatedcomputing device.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may becapable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media usedas links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electricalsignals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and maytake the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated duringradio-wave and infra-red data communications.

Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated inrelation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciatedthat changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occurwithout materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments,configuration, and aspects.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used.It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosurewithout providing others.

For example in one alternative embodiment, the panel displayed to a usermay comprise one or more combinations of the global panel and theapplication panel. In yet another embodiment, only the global panel isdisplay. In a further alternative embodiment, on the application panelis display. In some alternative embodiments, the translucency andposition of each panel is user configurable such that each panel mayvary in transparency.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means,or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementingthe methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the variousaspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for thedisclosed embodiments, configurations and aspects includes computers,handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital,analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Someof these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiplemicroprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and outputdevices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including,but not limited to, distributed processing or component/objectdistributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machineprocessing can also be constructed to implement the methods describedherein.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whethersoftware or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance withthis disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirementsof the system, the particular function, and the particular software orhardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems beingutilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurementsystem, system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations withreference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments,subcombinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art willunderstand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments,and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/orconfigurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absenceof items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence ofsuch items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g.,for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosureto the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing DetailedDescription for example, various features of the disclosure are groupedtogether in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects,embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than thosediscussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claims require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a singleforegoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodimentof the disclosure.

Moreover, though the description has included description of one or moreaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations andmodifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications arewithin the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill andknowledge of those in the art, after understanding the presentdisclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternativeaspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted,including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures,functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not suchalternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of displaying content on a television,comprising: receiving an indication associated with a selection by auser; determining, based on the received indication, a content panel todisplay via the television; retrieving from memory, a first contentinformation for display in the content panel; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the specified contentpanel.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a userassociated with the received indication; retrieving one or more settingsassociated with the identified user; retrieving, from memory, contentinformation associated with the identified user; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the specified contentpanel.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a userassociated with the received indication; retrieving, from memory, one ormore settings associated with the identified user; retrieving, frommemory, content information associated with the identified user and theone or more settings associated with the user; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the specified contentpanel.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a secondindication associated with a selection by a user; determining, based onthe second indication, a source of content information to be displayedin the content panel based; retrieving at least a portion of contentinformation from the determined source; and displaying, via thetelevision, the content information associated with the determinedsource.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content panel is a globalpanel.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying atleast one of a content source and a content information currently beingdisplayed via a television; selecting a panel type based on theidentified at least one of content source and content informationcurrently being displayed via the television; retrieving, from memory,content information based on the selected panel type; and displaying,via the television, the retrieved content information in the contentpanel based on the selected panel type.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising: receiving a second indication associated with aselection by a user; selecting a panel type based on the secondindication; retrieving, from memory, content information based on theselected panel type and the second indication; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the content panel. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the retrieved content informationcomprises information associated with content information marked asfavorite.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the retrieved contentinformation comprises information associated with content informationrecently viewed.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the content panel isan application panel.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable informationstorage medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a computingsystem to execute a method of displaying content on a television,comprising: receiving an indication associated with a selection by auser; determining, based on the received indication, a content panel todisplay via the television; retrieving from memory, a first contentinformation for display in the content panel; and displaying, via thetelevision, the retrieved content information in the specified contentpanel.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein the instructions further comprise: identifying a user associatedwith the received indication; retrieving one or more settings associatedwith the identified user; retrieving, from memory, content informationassociated with the identified user; and displaying, via the television,the retrieved content information in the specified content panel. 13.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein theinstructions further comprise: identifying a user associated with thereceived indication; retrieving, from memory, one or more settingsassociated with the identified user; retrieving, from memory, contentinformation associated with the identified user and the one or moresettings associated with the user; and displaying, via the television,the retrieved content information in the specified content panel. 14.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein theinstructions further comprise: receiving a second indication associatedwith a selection by a user; determining, based on the second indication,a source of content information to be displayed in the content panelbased; retrieving at least a portion of content information from thedetermined source; and displaying, via the television, the contentinformation associated with the determined source.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the contentpanel is a global panel.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying at least one of a content source and a content informationcurrently being displayed via a television; selecting a panel type basedon the identified at least one of content source and content informationcurrently being displayed via the television; retrieving, from memory,content information based on the selected panel type; and displaying,via the television, the retrieved content information in the contentpanel based on the selected panel type.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions furthercomprise: receiving a second indication associated with a selection by auser; selecting a panel type based on the second indication; retrieving,from memory, content information based on the selected panel type andthe second indication; and displaying, via the television, the retrievedcontent information in the content panel.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the retrieved contentinformation comprises information associated with content informationmarked as favorite.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein the retrieved content information comprisesinformation associated with content information recently viewed.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the contentpanel is an application panel.
 21. A system for displaying content on atelevision, comprising: an input device associated with the television;a memory; and a microprocessor operable to: receive an indicationassociated with a selection by a user; determine, based on the receivedindication, a content panel to display via the television; retrieve fromthe memory, a first content information for display in the contentpanel; and display, via the television, the retrieved contentinformation in the specified content panel.
 22. The system of claim 21,wherein the microprocessor is further operable to: identify at least oneof a content source and a content information currently being displayedvia a television; select a panel type based on the identified at leastone of content source and content information currently being displayedvia the television; retrieve, from the memory, content information basedon the selected panel type; and display, via the television, theretrieved content information in the content panel based on the selectedpanel type.